Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
red tape.
today, i'd like to talk about bureaucracy.
the kind of bureaucracy that allows editorial coordinators to turn tiny tyrant, sending out an email to everyone who (GASP!) hasn't taken the time, inbetween changing ellipses to ... to . . . in a 200 page document and TEACHING THE FUTURE LEADERS OF OUR PLANET, to insert a dissertation title into the special secret editorial electronic system that their name would be REMOVED FROM THE GRADUATION PROGRAM if they didn't respond to the email within an hour because i had been sent REPEATED messages to do so.
i got the email two hours after it was sent.
rather than get panicked, i just got mad. here's what i sent:
the kind of bureaucracy that allows editorial coordinators to turn tiny tyrant, sending out an email to everyone who (GASP!) hasn't taken the time, inbetween changing ellipses to ... to . . . in a 200 page document and TEACHING THE FUTURE LEADERS OF OUR PLANET, to insert a dissertation title into the special secret editorial electronic system that their name would be REMOVED FROM THE GRADUATION PROGRAM if they didn't respond to the email within an hour because i had been sent REPEATED messages to do so.
i got the email two hours after it was sent.
rather than get panicked, i just got mad. here's what i sent:
I only received this message. Yes, it was on the checklists, but I was not aware that there was an immediate deadline for the title. I have entered it, though it is more than an hour after you sent your message. I am graduating this term, and have met every deadline thus far. It seems monumentally unfair to me that because I didn't get my email (because I was teaching a class here) within your hour timeframe that my name should be removed from the program.
Please advise as to what will happen from here.
twenty minutes after this email, rather than send me a reply, another email was sent out to the list of mighty slackers like me (ahem.) who had yet to comply. instead of throwing down the hammer with an hour deadline, it stated that everyone needed to reply TODAY.
(much more reasonable but still annoying as sin.)
the last thing i need in my life right now, with moving and the dissertation editorial nonsense and teaching and just life, is a tyrannical bureaucracy cramping my style. please. give me a break.
my goal now is just to get this stupid thing done and passed off as soon as humanly possible. i really just want to be done.
it figures that, after all the effort and stress, the dissertation process would end with as much annoyance as possible.
perhaps it's their gentle way of kicking us out the door and not making us want to look back fondly. it works.
ps--i realized that my name never got changed in the collegetown u system, even though i thought it had been. now i think i might graduate as teachergirl maidenname rather than teachergirl maidenname marriedname. this makes me sad, sort of. i'm going to try to get it changed in time, but we'll see. i might be able to have them announce the right name, but the program will probably have the maidenname. i definitely will demand that my correct name be on my diploma. oh dear. i'll be so sad if it's not.
gah. more bureaucracy. i'm so over it!
Friday, July 9, 2010
friday superlative round-up.
stupidest thing i've seen: a guy on a bike, crossing against the traffic (he was in the crosswalk, but the light had not yet turned red so he was risking getting hit), paused in the center to wait for traffic but was still sort of moving forward as he looked down at his phone to text/call someone. as in he was moving on a bike, not looking, and creeping ever-so-quickly toward imminent bodily injury.
the whole time i was watching, i was a) thinking he was an idiot and b) planning how i would explain what happened to the police.
i'm sure this is what people think of people who text while they drive. i see their point, i suppose.
most unexpected kindness: we went to the stadium yesterday to work out. i haven't been to the stadium in a while, and last time the stairs killed my knee. so, instead of doing stairs, we worked on running. i can do okay on a treadmill, but running outside is really difficult for me. we ran inclines at first (ran up and down the ramps, walked the rest) and tried to run the spiral ramps up to the tippy-top of the stadium.
(my glutes screamed at me for that one, and i stopped twice. i wish i hadn't stopped the second time. i wish i had told them to shut up. i will next time.)
after we did that, we started running halfway around the stadium. we set a goal, and my wonderful husband coached me along. running is easier for him, and he is motivated now because he wants to play intermural rugby in the spring.
i felt like a complete loser because it was really hard for me. like REALLY hard. i kept going, but it was hard for me. as i was running the second time, i saw this girl running the opposite direction and she smiled quite widely at both of us. as we were circling, walking after i had done the third half lap, she passed us again and when she did, she looked directly at me and said "high five!" and slapped my hand.
i was surprised. i didn't know her. i think she just saw that i was doing something that was tough for me and admired me for it. it was encouraging and embarrassing and a whole host of other things that i can't really put my finger on. but most of all, it was kind.
best deal i've found: bermuda shorts for $7.50. in my size. that fit great (and are even a little bit big, though i am not holding my breath until i wash and dry them). sometimes retail therapy really does work.
thing most likely to bring me to my knees: the frustration of stalled weight loss.
thing most likely to bring me the most lessons: how i have chosen to deal with said frustration, and the people who genuinely care enough to try to understand and, then, help. i feel like the first part is the most important, really.
mind-boggler: how does one bookshelf of books fill SIX OR SEVEN BOXES of heavy death? how are there still books? how did i become a person with only one bookshelf of books? do i really care about any of these books anymore, really? how did this happen?
i really dislike box hunting, but have been relatively successful thus far. i think i will just keep looking, every day, for boxes. worst case scenario? we have too many, and i just go put them back in the cardboard-only dumpsters from whence they came.
and, as a caveat, how on EARTH did it become only one week until we get the keys to the new place? and how ON EARTH will we ever be ready?
i wish i had a personal assistant to do the following: faxing my stupid signature page so that i can get my stupid transcript released from my stupid MA alma mater. why are they the only ones who care this much about my stupid privacy? i got a 4.0. i don't care who knows it. JUST SEND IT ALREADY WHEN I PAY YOU YOUR MONEY, PEOPLE.
the irony is not lost on me: in one week, we receive delivery of our washer and dryer. guess what i have to do tomorrow because we're almost out of underwear? you guessed it. hello, laundromat. i will not cry when i bid you a fond adieu. or maybe not such a fond adieu so much as a "suck it. i hate you." adieu.
it's really nothing personal.
worst timing ever: thanks, property management company, for letting me know THREE WEEKS before our lease is up that we are responsible for professionally steamcleaning our carpets before we check out. thanks for letting us know that during the peak of move-out season. thanks for adding one more REALLY ANNOYING thing to our to-do list. thanks.
i better get every dime of my deposit back if i have to clean the carpets, because WHAT DO YOU DO AT ALL?!?
biggest regret: taking this online class. i'm burnt out, i don't want to do it, and now i just hate it. two more weeks. two more weeks.
reason that i am reminded that i live a pretty great life: my husband is a wonderful partner. he just knows when to fill in, and when to back off, and when to support, and when to encourage, and when to push me to talk when i need to talk. he just wants to know what's going on in my head, and i love that. i love that i can look at him and know when he's worried so that i can do the same for him. i love that he loves the angry beavers and made me watch it and now we use "spoot" all of the time in every day conversation. i love our daydreamy conversations about decorating our new house. i love our anxiety-laced planning for a very busy fall. i just love how we fit, and how being best friends just makes everything from dirty dishes to job complications easier and more manageable.
come what may, i love it.
have a great weekend all. think of me, up to my eyeballs in papers and boxes, as you have some well-deserved fun. at least it will be airconditioned. :)
the whole time i was watching, i was a) thinking he was an idiot and b) planning how i would explain what happened to the police.
i'm sure this is what people think of people who text while they drive. i see their point, i suppose.
most unexpected kindness: we went to the stadium yesterday to work out. i haven't been to the stadium in a while, and last time the stairs killed my knee. so, instead of doing stairs, we worked on running. i can do okay on a treadmill, but running outside is really difficult for me. we ran inclines at first (ran up and down the ramps, walked the rest) and tried to run the spiral ramps up to the tippy-top of the stadium.
(my glutes screamed at me for that one, and i stopped twice. i wish i hadn't stopped the second time. i wish i had told them to shut up. i will next time.)
after we did that, we started running halfway around the stadium. we set a goal, and my wonderful husband coached me along. running is easier for him, and he is motivated now because he wants to play intermural rugby in the spring.
i felt like a complete loser because it was really hard for me. like REALLY hard. i kept going, but it was hard for me. as i was running the second time, i saw this girl running the opposite direction and she smiled quite widely at both of us. as we were circling, walking after i had done the third half lap, she passed us again and when she did, she looked directly at me and said "high five!" and slapped my hand.
i was surprised. i didn't know her. i think she just saw that i was doing something that was tough for me and admired me for it. it was encouraging and embarrassing and a whole host of other things that i can't really put my finger on. but most of all, it was kind.
best deal i've found: bermuda shorts for $7.50. in my size. that fit great (and are even a little bit big, though i am not holding my breath until i wash and dry them). sometimes retail therapy really does work.
thing most likely to bring me to my knees: the frustration of stalled weight loss.
thing most likely to bring me the most lessons: how i have chosen to deal with said frustration, and the people who genuinely care enough to try to understand and, then, help. i feel like the first part is the most important, really.
mind-boggler: how does one bookshelf of books fill SIX OR SEVEN BOXES of heavy death? how are there still books? how did i become a person with only one bookshelf of books? do i really care about any of these books anymore, really? how did this happen?
i really dislike box hunting, but have been relatively successful thus far. i think i will just keep looking, every day, for boxes. worst case scenario? we have too many, and i just go put them back in the cardboard-only dumpsters from whence they came.
and, as a caveat, how on EARTH did it become only one week until we get the keys to the new place? and how ON EARTH will we ever be ready?
i wish i had a personal assistant to do the following: faxing my stupid signature page so that i can get my stupid transcript released from my stupid MA alma mater. why are they the only ones who care this much about my stupid privacy? i got a 4.0. i don't care who knows it. JUST SEND IT ALREADY WHEN I PAY YOU YOUR MONEY, PEOPLE.
the irony is not lost on me: in one week, we receive delivery of our washer and dryer. guess what i have to do tomorrow because we're almost out of underwear? you guessed it. hello, laundromat. i will not cry when i bid you a fond adieu. or maybe not such a fond adieu so much as a "suck it. i hate you." adieu.
it's really nothing personal.
worst timing ever: thanks, property management company, for letting me know THREE WEEKS before our lease is up that we are responsible for professionally steamcleaning our carpets before we check out. thanks for letting us know that during the peak of move-out season. thanks for adding one more REALLY ANNOYING thing to our to-do list. thanks.
i better get every dime of my deposit back if i have to clean the carpets, because WHAT DO YOU DO AT ALL?!?
biggest regret: taking this online class. i'm burnt out, i don't want to do it, and now i just hate it. two more weeks. two more weeks.
reason that i am reminded that i live a pretty great life: my husband is a wonderful partner. he just knows when to fill in, and when to back off, and when to support, and when to encourage, and when to push me to talk when i need to talk. he just wants to know what's going on in my head, and i love that. i love that i can look at him and know when he's worried so that i can do the same for him. i love that he loves the angry beavers and made me watch it and now we use "spoot" all of the time in every day conversation. i love our daydreamy conversations about decorating our new house. i love our anxiety-laced planning for a very busy fall. i just love how we fit, and how being best friends just makes everything from dirty dishes to job complications easier and more manageable.
come what may, i love it.
have a great weekend all. think of me, up to my eyeballs in papers and boxes, as you have some well-deserved fun. at least it will be airconditioned. :)
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
yes. i see the theme.
we all have trials, and i get that. they're catered to our individual circumstances, to teach us what we need to learn.
what, in fact, do i need to learn from the fact that, no matter how i try, i seem to be gaining weight instead of losing it? despite feeling smaller, fitter, and in better shape than i was when i got married, i am twenty pounds heavier and it just keeps creeping up. i know that ten or fifteen of those pounds are a direct result of ice cream and cookie consumption. i don't hate on that.
i hate on the fact that i am so deeply frustrated that it makes me angry. i don't like how that feels.
say what you might about not letting the scale dictate what your happiness level is, i do NOT want to gain back all of the weight i have lost. i count it a personal failure. i count it a disaster. i count it my worst nightmare.
so what am i to do? why is it not working?
but beyond that, how do i deal with such significant amounts of frustration? the only thing i can think to do is to weigh myself once a week, be vigilant and do what i know to do, and wait.
WAIT.
i hate waiting. i HATE IT. i hate that this particular trial is so much easier for other people. i hate that i can watch a show like jillian michaels' losing it and see people lose 53 pounds in six weeks. i mean, i get that they're at the beginning, and i'm likely at the end, of the journey, but still. it's SO frustrating.
i'm doing the right things! i'm doing what i'm supposed to be doing!
but then it occurs to me, as i write this, that there are often times that we are not immediately rewarded for our efforts. we are often doing the right things and being the right people and yet things don't happen that we want. it's usually because the time isn't right or because we don't understand the big picture.
perhaps i'm never going to weigh what i want to weigh. perhaps i will spend my whole life dreaming of the wonderland that i hope to reach, dreaming of a number that may never happen.
perhaps that is true.
but perhaps, more likely, i am meant to continue to learn patience.
perhaps, more importantly, i am meant to learn to live well continuously, rather than in fits and starts when my pants get a bit tight.
perhaps, more importantly, i am meant to build muscle and skill and stamina and healthy habits that will translate into healthy eating habits for children and healthy pregnancies and healthy families.
perhaps, most importantly, i am meant to finally be able to see myself, if even in glimmering spurts, the way my Father in Heaven sees me and NOT the way the flawed and fallen world wants me to see myself.
perhaps, in those triumphant moments when i achieve something spectacularly hard that i didn't think i did, when i feel muscles that i didn't know i had, when i see my heart rate is lower than it used to be, when i feel my body changing, i am meant to not anticipate results but to recognize the success.
perhaps i am meant to be content.
--
after i wrote this, frustrated and feeling a bit beleaguered, i went to walmart to buy a food scale so that i can more accurately measure the things that i am just guesstimating at. i've been meaning to do that for ages. while i was doing that, i stopped into the clothing section. they had some shorts for a song, so i pulled what i thought was my size.
i prayed as i hit the dressing room. i wasn't sure that they would fit, because sizes at walmart are ODD and also me and pants are not good friends.
they not only fit, but they fit beautifully. i bought two, and cried a little, and thanked Heavenly Father for a tender mercy that tells me that i must be doing something right.
and to just hold on and keep doing it. good work is rewarded eventually, even if it's not in the way we expect.
i'm still holding on.
what, in fact, do i need to learn from the fact that, no matter how i try, i seem to be gaining weight instead of losing it? despite feeling smaller, fitter, and in better shape than i was when i got married, i am twenty pounds heavier and it just keeps creeping up. i know that ten or fifteen of those pounds are a direct result of ice cream and cookie consumption. i don't hate on that.
i hate on the fact that i am so deeply frustrated that it makes me angry. i don't like how that feels.
say what you might about not letting the scale dictate what your happiness level is, i do NOT want to gain back all of the weight i have lost. i count it a personal failure. i count it a disaster. i count it my worst nightmare.
so what am i to do? why is it not working?
but beyond that, how do i deal with such significant amounts of frustration? the only thing i can think to do is to weigh myself once a week, be vigilant and do what i know to do, and wait.
WAIT.
i hate waiting. i HATE IT. i hate that this particular trial is so much easier for other people. i hate that i can watch a show like jillian michaels' losing it and see people lose 53 pounds in six weeks. i mean, i get that they're at the beginning, and i'm likely at the end, of the journey, but still. it's SO frustrating.
i'm doing the right things! i'm doing what i'm supposed to be doing!
but then it occurs to me, as i write this, that there are often times that we are not immediately rewarded for our efforts. we are often doing the right things and being the right people and yet things don't happen that we want. it's usually because the time isn't right or because we don't understand the big picture.
perhaps i'm never going to weigh what i want to weigh. perhaps i will spend my whole life dreaming of the wonderland that i hope to reach, dreaming of a number that may never happen.
perhaps that is true.
but perhaps, more likely, i am meant to continue to learn patience.
perhaps, more importantly, i am meant to learn to live well continuously, rather than in fits and starts when my pants get a bit tight.
perhaps, more importantly, i am meant to build muscle and skill and stamina and healthy habits that will translate into healthy eating habits for children and healthy pregnancies and healthy families.
perhaps, most importantly, i am meant to finally be able to see myself, if even in glimmering spurts, the way my Father in Heaven sees me and NOT the way the flawed and fallen world wants me to see myself.
perhaps, in those triumphant moments when i achieve something spectacularly hard that i didn't think i did, when i feel muscles that i didn't know i had, when i see my heart rate is lower than it used to be, when i feel my body changing, i am meant to not anticipate results but to recognize the success.
perhaps i am meant to be content.
--
after i wrote this, frustrated and feeling a bit beleaguered, i went to walmart to buy a food scale so that i can more accurately measure the things that i am just guesstimating at. i've been meaning to do that for ages. while i was doing that, i stopped into the clothing section. they had some shorts for a song, so i pulled what i thought was my size.
i prayed as i hit the dressing room. i wasn't sure that they would fit, because sizes at walmart are ODD and also me and pants are not good friends.
they not only fit, but they fit beautifully. i bought two, and cried a little, and thanked Heavenly Father for a tender mercy that tells me that i must be doing something right.
and to just hold on and keep doing it. good work is rewarded eventually, even if it's not in the way we expect.
i'm still holding on.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
you can tell it's 2010...
...when the majority of your class emails their speech topics to you using their phones from class.
hot diggity. technology.
hot diggity. technology.
Monday, July 5, 2010
we now rejoin your regularly scheduled programming, already in progress...
oh HAI.
how are you? enjoy your long weekend? eat a hot dog or FIFTY NINE like that whack job who won the nathan's contest? bake a pie? sing a song? wave a flag?
yeah, me too, except for no hot dogs or pies, but there was a fake cake incident that may, in fact, have resembled my mom's tragic sugar-free birthday cake Incident of 1984 (ish?) that lives in family infamy.
(lesson: don't use both applesauce and banana as substitutes for butter and eggs unless you just want sort of bland muffin things that don't taste much like anything except a hint of banana. second lesson: if i added heaps more banana, it would make a pretty slammin' banana muffin. third lesson: the calorie count was still too high. the end.)
my husband still ate them and thought they were good. that's why i married him. he's sweet.
but things have been happening, and exciting things at that, and so i have a few type of update-y things that may or may not be interesting to you. i will separate them with these here little -- things so that if your eyes glaze over with boredom, you can skim down and quickly discern when that nightmare of a long story is going to end.
--
like that? see? easy as pie. or cake. or fake cake. whatever.
--
we are the proud owners of a REAL WASHER AND DRYER. it is not yet in my possession, but it is OURS. we paid for it and we paid EIGHTY DOLLARS LESS for it than we were expecting. and it wasn't even on sale. it was just one of those unexpected yet AMAZING blessings that keep pouring upon us with regularity.
sometimes i think provident living is amazing. know why? because when you live within your means, and are happy to do so, you get to sometimes live outside your means because your means expand with blessings.
it's kind of awesome.
so, for the money that we budgeted for the washer and dryer alone, we got a washer/dryer and a beautiful rug for our new house. like the big expensive kind, not the industrial scratchy kind. like the kind that they have hanging on display and you just sort of lovingly pet and wish you could take home with you.
that kind.
take that, budget!
--
i am a craigslist addict right now. i found a desk, desk chair, and adorable coffee table for $50--and the woman is going to keep them for me until we move on the 16th. i found a couch that was going to be $50 and then they reduced the price because, honest people that they are, they found that the zipper was broken. so they're keeping it for us and they reduced the price too. $40 ugly super comfortable couch? YES PLEASE. i will cover you with something beautiful and look at you every day and think "i got you for a song..."and i will be happy.
i'm still on the hunt for a dining room table, but i may have a few leads, so there's that. oh, and i got some shelves too. they were probably the most expensive, but they're cute and LALALA i got a couch for $40. so there.
--
class is going well. so far, most people seem to know what they're doing in both my public speaking classes and my online classes. we'll see how much that keeps up, but so far so good.
i'm also reminded that the longer i teach something, the better off i am. i am getting better and better at teaching public speaking. it's less foreign and more organic to me, and that's always good.
--
body combat update. i went to class on saturday, and that same girl came back. this time she was in front of me, and rather than feeling all maternal and "i understand where you're coming from" about her, a whole psychological redux of my teenage years of yuck, and i was just annoyed.
she stopped a lot. (and this from someone who also stops) she didn't even seem to try to do the punches correctly. and it was in front of me for an hour. it was annoying.
this, however, was tempered by today, when i took advantage of my day off to go to a daytime body combat class taught by a different instructor.
(i love my instructor. she's by far the best.)
because i obviously knew what i was doing, and because i was up in the front, a whole host of people who were behind me were obviously watching me and doing what i did.
i can't tell you how much i liked that. when i see people struggling in class, i really don't just systematically judge them. i'd like to help them. but logic says that if you're not getting the cues that you need from the instructor, you look around to find the participants who look like they know what they're doing and parrot them.
(that's what i do in a new class. that's what i did my first few times in body combat.)
i'd like to be someone who could be an example for someone. it makes me feel like i'm helping someone to be successful. and, if you take the time to come to a class like this, don't you want to be successful?
i think so. i just wish girly who keeps coming back would watch me. i could help.
--
i think that is all. except that whole thing about no hot dogs? i think that ends today. it is shaping up to be a hot dog, fireworks (it was raining on saturday here for us), packing boxes kind of day.
--
you may now continue with your personal business. thank you for your attention.
how are you? enjoy your long weekend? eat a hot dog or FIFTY NINE like that whack job who won the nathan's contest? bake a pie? sing a song? wave a flag?
yeah, me too, except for no hot dogs or pies, but there was a fake cake incident that may, in fact, have resembled my mom's tragic sugar-free birthday cake Incident of 1984 (ish?) that lives in family infamy.
(lesson: don't use both applesauce and banana as substitutes for butter and eggs unless you just want sort of bland muffin things that don't taste much like anything except a hint of banana. second lesson: if i added heaps more banana, it would make a pretty slammin' banana muffin. third lesson: the calorie count was still too high. the end.)
my husband still ate them and thought they were good. that's why i married him. he's sweet.
but things have been happening, and exciting things at that, and so i have a few type of update-y things that may or may not be interesting to you. i will separate them with these here little -- things so that if your eyes glaze over with boredom, you can skim down and quickly discern when that nightmare of a long story is going to end.
--
like that? see? easy as pie. or cake. or fake cake. whatever.
--
we are the proud owners of a REAL WASHER AND DRYER. it is not yet in my possession, but it is OURS. we paid for it and we paid EIGHTY DOLLARS LESS for it than we were expecting. and it wasn't even on sale. it was just one of those unexpected yet AMAZING blessings that keep pouring upon us with regularity.
sometimes i think provident living is amazing. know why? because when you live within your means, and are happy to do so, you get to sometimes live outside your means because your means expand with blessings.
it's kind of awesome.
so, for the money that we budgeted for the washer and dryer alone, we got a washer/dryer and a beautiful rug for our new house. like the big expensive kind, not the industrial scratchy kind. like the kind that they have hanging on display and you just sort of lovingly pet and wish you could take home with you.
that kind.
take that, budget!
--
i am a craigslist addict right now. i found a desk, desk chair, and adorable coffee table for $50--and the woman is going to keep them for me until we move on the 16th. i found a couch that was going to be $50 and then they reduced the price because, honest people that they are, they found that the zipper was broken. so they're keeping it for us and they reduced the price too. $40 ugly super comfortable couch? YES PLEASE. i will cover you with something beautiful and look at you every day and think "i got you for a song..."and i will be happy.
i'm still on the hunt for a dining room table, but i may have a few leads, so there's that. oh, and i got some shelves too. they were probably the most expensive, but they're cute and LALALA i got a couch for $40. so there.
--
class is going well. so far, most people seem to know what they're doing in both my public speaking classes and my online classes. we'll see how much that keeps up, but so far so good.
i'm also reminded that the longer i teach something, the better off i am. i am getting better and better at teaching public speaking. it's less foreign and more organic to me, and that's always good.
--
body combat update. i went to class on saturday, and that same girl came back. this time she was in front of me, and rather than feeling all maternal and "i understand where you're coming from" about her, a whole psychological redux of my teenage years of yuck, and i was just annoyed.
she stopped a lot. (and this from someone who also stops) she didn't even seem to try to do the punches correctly. and it was in front of me for an hour. it was annoying.
this, however, was tempered by today, when i took advantage of my day off to go to a daytime body combat class taught by a different instructor.
(i love my instructor. she's by far the best.)
because i obviously knew what i was doing, and because i was up in the front, a whole host of people who were behind me were obviously watching me and doing what i did.
i can't tell you how much i liked that. when i see people struggling in class, i really don't just systematically judge them. i'd like to help them. but logic says that if you're not getting the cues that you need from the instructor, you look around to find the participants who look like they know what they're doing and parrot them.
(that's what i do in a new class. that's what i did my first few times in body combat.)
i'd like to be someone who could be an example for someone. it makes me feel like i'm helping someone to be successful. and, if you take the time to come to a class like this, don't you want to be successful?
i think so. i just wish girly who keeps coming back would watch me. i could help.
--
i think that is all. except that whole thing about no hot dogs? i think that ends today. it is shaping up to be a hot dog, fireworks (it was raining on saturday here for us), packing boxes kind of day.
--
you may now continue with your personal business. thank you for your attention.
Friday, July 2, 2010
adjusting to summer.
walking across campus twice a day every day is good for my metabolism, but not so good for my appearance. it's usually about 80% humidity with a heat index in excess of the stated temperature, so one must take precautions and preparations.
every girl must have the following tools in her summertime arsenal:
have a wonderful holiday weekend, all. i can hardly believe we're into july. i'll be spending mine grading (no new news there) and packing.
(two weeks until we move! yay!)
i hope yours is full of fun and rest or whatever you want it to be filled with.
every girl must have the following tools in her summertime arsenal:
- a go-to updo that works with almost any outfit. i have a couple of them perfected, and they look decent and cute without forcing me to deal with hair on my neck. i can't stand hair on my neck in the heat.
- a slammin' hair spray that will weather any weather. i found mine before the wedding, and it's worked wonders. i only hope that i can find it again once that increasingly-lighter-with-every-day can finally runs out.
- a small towel. maybe you're one of those people who can face the stifling heat with just a gentle glisten above your upper lip. if you are, bully for you, but i sweat. so, before i hit the classroom to try to convince them that i am more than a sopping mess of heat stroke, i duck into the nearest bathroom and try to mop up.
- the ability to sense when it actually is cooler, and great gratitude for a breeze. sometimes hope is all that gets you through.
- an umbrella. it rains whenever it wants around these parts, and unless you want to get thoroughly soaked before or after work, you need to make sure you are prepared.
- flip flops. no matter what shoes you actually might end up wearing with your chosen outfit, you must always have flip flops for the journey. summer shoes are not always comfortable, but flip flops are. so when my outfit necessitates a different shoe choice, i wear my flip flops to walk in and then slip my other shoes on.
have a wonderful holiday weekend, all. i can hardly believe we're into july. i'll be spending mine grading (no new news there) and packing.
(two weeks until we move! yay!)
i hope yours is full of fun and rest or whatever you want it to be filled with.
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